Letters

Trump, Winfrey are “empty brands”

January 24, 2018   ·   0 Comments

(Re: Brock’s Banter, January 18)

Maybe it’s just what happens when you take an already “simplistic” idea and “pare it down to its core,” but after meandering through Brock’s Banter last week, I was disappointed to learn that “the only way to fight a personality cult is with another personality cult.”
I respectfully demur: personality cults, “strong leaders,” and the attractions of “charisma” are problems, not solutions. Democracies thrive when citizens are well informed and actively engaged in public life, not when they worship messiahs.
Donald Trump is a billionaire celebrity with a foul mouth and a deplorable heart. Oprah Winfrey is a billionaire celebrity with a winning smile and an effusive heart. Their personalities and political sentiments differ, but they are both empty brands. Neither one could reasonably be elected as a national leader in any democracy worthy of the name.
In Canada, we are fortunate rarely to have succumbed to loudmouths, rigid ideologues, heroic visionaries and political saviours who promise to unburden us of the responsibilities of active citizenship. Let’s forget about image and select thoughtful, principled and authentic representatives at all levels of government.

Howard A. Doughty
Richmond Hill

         

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